Lots of buzz around right now that Peter Forsberg will be going back to the Flyers. Foppa has already had lunch and dinner with members of the Flyers’ front office recently, leading to all the speculation a deal is in the works.
Don’t count on it.

For one thing, the Flyers have no cap room. Forsberg would have to play for about $1 million if he went back to Philly. Yes, the Flyers could dump some salary in a trade or whatever, but are they going to really want to trade some of their top guys to make room for a 34-year old center with an injury history almost as long as Evel Knievel?

Forsberg’s girlfriend is from the Philly area, so his visit there probably had as much to do with that as the Flyers giving him a courtesy call.

My bet where Forsberg ends up remains the Anaheim Ducks, with the Avalanche as a remote possibility. It looks like Teemu Selanne will retire, so that opens up the money they would have given him to some other player. And, if Scott Niedermayer calls it quits, the defending Cup champions suddenly would have loads of cap room. They already are missing a top forward from last year, as Dustin Penner is gone to Edmonton.

The Ducks would be an attractive place for Forsberg I’m sure, although I wonder how well he’d fit into a team coached by the hard-nosed, simple hockey-loving Randy Carlyle. But I’m sure Carlyle wouldn’t mind having a guy like Peter around, especially come playoff time.

The Avs have around $5.5 million in current cap room, and of course it’s somewhat curious that they haven’t used any of it since Forsberg became a free agent and is waiting to see when/if he’s healthy enough to play.

Francois Giguere said he likes the current makeup of his team and doesn’t want to disrupt the chemistry much. But he also has said things could change. In other words, a healthy, available Forsberg might make him think very hard about getting him back.

It’s all just speculation still, though. As always, the hockey world is waiting on Foppa to make up his mind.

Before I go, condolences to Avs TV color analyst Peter McNab, whose father, Max, passed away this week. “Maxie” as Peter always called him, was a hockey pioneer who probably loved the game of hockey more than any man alive. He passed on that love to his sons, Peter and David, the latter who recently won a Stanley Cup as assistant GM with Anaheim.

He was also a gentleman, and that was certainly passed along to his sons, too.

Adrian Dater’s best-selling book, “Blood Feud: Detroit Red Wings v. Colorado Avalanche; The Inside Story of Pro Sports’ Nastiest and Best Rivalry of its Era” is available in bookstores and at Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com

His forthcoming book, “Denver Broncos: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com